WJPA Sports

Lew Hays PONY Field has been prepared. Ten teams are in town. Let the 2026 Printscape PONY League World Series begin. In addition to the baseball tournament games, there are a number of special ceremonies and activities in celebration of PONY Baseball’s 75th Anniversary. Those ceremonies will feature guests from USA Baseball, the World Baseball Confederation, members of the 1952 Washington World Series team, NCAA Division III Baseball National Champion coach Mike Deegan and hundreds of PONY Baseball volunteer field directors.

Friday’s schedule includes a doubleheader with opening ceremonies between games. The scheduled Home Run Derby & Fastest Runner Contests were postponed due to Friday morning rains. Saturday features the annual Champions League game followed by three World Series contests, including first-round games for South Hills & Washington County. Hear every game of the 2026 Printscape PONY League World Series on WJPA-AM (1450) and online.

Friday
4:30 pm Hidalgo, TX vs. Paderborn, Germany
between games Opening Ceremonies
7:30 pm Bay County MI vs. Guaynabo, Puerto Rico

Saturday
9:30 am PONY Champions League game
12:00 n West Covina, CA vs. Hagerstown, MD
2:30 pm Navojoa, Mexico vs. South Hills, PA
5:00 pm Hidalgo/Paderborn winner vs. Washington County PA

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Dustin May won his Milwaukee debut and Jackson Chourio and Gary Sánchez hit home runs as the Brewers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 on Thursday afternoon.  After losing the opener, the Brewers (72-43) won the final three games in the series.  May (6-7), acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in a trade deadline deal on Monday, turned in a quality start, giving up two runs and three hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out five in the 97-pitch outing.  The Brewers jumped out early on Chourio’s 15th homer of the season, a solo shot off Braxton Ashcraft (11-5) with one out in the first.  The Brewers extended the lead to 2-0 in third when David Hamilton walked, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Cooper Pratt’s sacrifice fly.  Brandon Lowe’s lead-off homer in the fourth, the first hit surrendered by May, put the Pirates on the board. Spencer Horwitz’s run-scoring single later in the inning tied it.   Milwaukee regained the lead in the fifth. Sánchez hit a solo homer and Brice Turang had a run-scoring single following a double from Pratt.  The Brewers extended the lead to 5-2 in the sixth when Garrett Mitchell snapped a 0-for-18 streak with a leadoff double and scored on Andrew Vaughn’s single.  DL Hall, Aaron Ashby and Chad Patrick, who notched his fifth save, combined to pitch three scoreless innings to close it out.

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Undrafted rookie quarterback Haynes King ran in from the 5 on the final play of the game to lead the Carolina Panthers to a 33-30 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in the Hall of Fame game that kicked off the NFL preseason. King was the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year last season at Georgia Tech. He went 21 of 34 for 180 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 39 yards and the winning score. Carson Beck had an impressive debut for Arizona, throwing for 188 yards and a touchdown.

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions have agreed to a contract extension with Jahmyr Gibbs, a three-year deal worth up to $75.7 million that his agents say makes him the NFL’s newest highest-paid running back. Athletes First announced the deal Thursday, hours after Gibbs took the field for the first time since the Lions’ training camp started. His agents also noted the new contract includes $51.5 million guaranteed for the Pro Bowler. Two days earlier, Atlanta briefly made Bijan Robinson the NFL’s highest-paid running back. Gibbs rushed for 1,223 yards and 13 touchdowns last season and had 77 receptions for 616 yards and five more TDs.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins have made a significant investment in forward Ville Koivunen, signing him to an eight-year contract worth $4 million annually. Koivunen, 23, was a restricted free agent. The deal highlights his importance to the team as they face the later stages of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang’s careers. Koivunen, from Finland, joined Pittsburgh in a 2024 trade with Carolina. He had two goals and five assists in 39 games last season with Pittsburgh. He also excelled in the playoffs for Wilkes-Barre, Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate, with four goals and five assists in nine games.